CBR: The Secret History of Spider-Man's Parents

[CBR News]

Spider-Man is a household name, but what about his parents? With trailers for "The Amazing Spider-Man" hinting at an expanded role in Spidey's origins, CBR examines the mysterious history of Mary and Richard Parker.


Full article here.

[Black Manta]

But what about the story in which May gets pregnant with Peter and gives him to Mary to raise? Was that non-canon?

[Haseo the Terror of Death]

But what about the story in which May gets pregnant with Peter and gives him to Mary to raise? Was that non-canon?

Uh, yeah that wasn't canon at ALL.

[Dusk]

The Green Goblin that's mentioned in the article is not Norman, but Harry.

The film's trailer specified that Richard Parker was a scientist who worked with Curt Conner, so it would be more probable that it's referencing the Ultimate Spiderman history, where Richard worked with Eddie Brock's father on a cure for cancer, which later became the Venom symbiote.

[SpideyCzar]

Really looking forward to the film and what exactly Peter's parents role was in the happenings at Oscorp. It's much better than them being spies like in the Horrible Minus 1 flashback.

[Xenon]

But what about the story in which May gets pregnant with Peter and gives him to Mary to raise? Was that non-canon?

That was never officially incorprorated. Trouble was just a stand alone book. That happened to feature characters with the exact same names.

I suspect it would have been canonized if people liked it but they didn't, so lol.

[Charagon]

I always liked the idea that Wolverine is the closest thing Spider-Man has to a godfather. I wish that relationship would have been expanded on when they joined the Avengers instead of Wolverine instantly going after MJ.

[coconutphone]

Really looking forward to the film and what exactly Peter's parents role was in the happenings at Oscorp. It's much better than them being spies like in the Horrible Minus 1 flashback.

They were spies way before that. Stan wrote that himself in an annual early on.

[oldschool]

They were spies way before that. Stan wrote that himself in an annual early on.

He did and it was, IMO, a rare Stan misstep. It always struck me as odd that they would be spies but, moreover, that Stan revealed something like that so early in Spidey's history and, further still, it was never followed up on at all with the exception of working it into the horrible "robot parents" story of the 1990's.

I much prefer the Ultimate-verse's version of Pete's dad to be honest and hope the new movie takes it's cues from that (as the trailer seems to suggest).

[David Walton]

They were spies way before that. Stan wrote that himself in an annual early on.

Yep. It was an odd move on Stan's part, one that potentially undermined the idea that Pete's a hero because of Aunt May and Uncle Ben's influence, rather than acquiring it through his parents' bloodline.

[David Walton]

He did and it was, IMO, a rare Stan misstep. It always struck me as odd that they would be spies but, moreover, that Stan revealed something like that so early in Spidey's history and, further still, it was never followed up on at all with the exception of working it into the horrible "robot parents" story of the 1990's.

I much prefer the Ultimate-verse's version of Pete's dad to be honest and hope the new movie takes it's cues from that (as the trailer seems to suggest).

It really just seems like a one-off "wouldn't that be cool" idea that Stan threw out there because hey, James Bond is awesome.

Stan basically had no way of knowing that people would be building on everything he ever touched fifty years later.

[Hypestyle]

But what about the story in which May gets pregnant with Peter and gives him to Mary to raise? Was that non-canon?

if anybody wants issues 1 - 4, PM me..

[oldschool]

It really just seems like a one-off "wouldn't that be cool" idea that Stan threw out there because hey, James Bond is awesome.

Stan basically had no way of knowing that people would be building on everything he ever touched fifty years later.

Very good point; we oftentimes forget that it would not be until years later that they knew they had real legitimate hit on their hands with the character of Spidey; in fact, I own a hardcover book on Spidey and the general consensus is that it wasn't until well into the Lee/JR SR era (circa 1970) that Spidey was really considered a true "A-List" hero along the lines of Superman, Batman and the FF (who were the stars of the MU in the 1960's).

[stillanerd]

He did and it was, IMO, a rare Stan misstep. It always struck me as odd that they would be spies but, moreover, that Stan revealed something like that so early in Spidey's history and, further still, it was never followed up on at all with the exception of working it into the horrible "robot parents" story of the 1990's.

I much prefer the Ultimate-verse's version of Pete's dad to be honest and hope the new movie takes it's cues from that (as the trailer seems to suggest).

Agree on both points, oldschool. And yes, the whole "robot parents" storyline is particularly bad because it, I believe, was the driving factor in unnecessary darkening Spider-Man, which of course Marvel attempted to fix via the Clone Saga. Also, another plus the Ultimate-verse did with regards to Peter's parents is that it also provided a rationale for how a 15 year-old kid from Queens could invent such sophisticated device like the web-shooters out of spare parts aside from the fact he was exceptionally bright.

To be fair to Stan Lee, though, I imagine the rationale behind having Peter's parents be secret agents was his way of further integrating Spider-Man into the Marvel Universe, considering how the Red Skull (or rather an imposter) was behind their deaths. Also, the orphan hero who had special parents he never knew about is very common in a lot of stories.

It really just seems like a one-off "wouldn't that be cool" idea that Stan threw out there because hey, James Bond is awesome.

Stan basically had no way of knowing that people would be building on everything he ever touched fifty years later.

That's a very good point about the parents as spies being a nod to James Bond.

[Xenon]

He did and it was, IMO, a rare Stan misstep. It always struck me as odd that they would be spies but, moreover, that Stan revealed something like that so early in Spidey's history and, further still, it was never followed up on at all with the exception of working it into the horrible "robot parents" story of the 1990's.

I much prefer the Ultimate-verse's version of Pete's dad to be honest and hope the new movie takes it's cues from that (as the trailer seems to suggest).

Honestly, i never got why what his parents were was that big of a deal. They did something kinda different and exciting, I suppose, but it's not related at all to who Peter is or why he became Spider-Man. It doesn't change anything. they're his dead parents, not him. =\